2019–20 BUSINESS PLAN AND CPS 2020 Our strategic priorities reflect our commitment to being a flexible, trusted prosecution service. That commitment is underpinned by our existing values:

- Treat everyone with respect
- Be independent and fair
- Be honest and open
- Behave professionally and strive for excellence

**OUR VALUES**

**SUCCESS OF OUR PEOPLE**

We will attract the best people and be recognised for our investment in staff, training and skills

**HIGH QUALITY CASEWORK**

We will deliver justice through excellent, timely legal decision-making, casework preparation and presentation

**PUBLIC CONFIDENCE**

Our decisions will be open and transparent and the public will trust that we are fair and deliver justice

**CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVING**

We will continue to digitise and modernise the way we work and support a flexible workforce. We will deliver swifter justice, fewer hearings and more effective trials We will attract and retain the best people and be recognised for our investment in staff, training and skills.

How will we achieve this:

- Reflect the community we serve by further developing our inclusive culture and diverse workforce

- Ensure we are resourced appropriately across all functions and geographical locations by attracting, recruiting and retaining people with the skills and capability to deliver high quality services

- Foster a culture of learning that offers all employees the learning opportunities and personal support required for their career development.

Measured by:

- Increase the employee engagement index from the 2018 Civil Service People Survey to more than 61%

- Meet the Civil Service ambition for apprenticeships of 2.3%

- Maintain level of spending on the development of our people at more than 0.42% of overall expenditure

- Ensure number of staff declared disabled at least meets the Civil Service average of 10%

- Ensure number of staff declared black, Asian or minority ethnic is representative of the communities we serve at more than 16.7%

- Ensure number of staff declared lesbian, gay or bisexual increases from current 6% rate

- Ensure number of prosecutors in post is within 5% of budgeted levels We will deliver justice through excellent, timely legal decision making, casework preparation and presentation.

How will we achieve this:

• Ensure the criminal justice system is fair to all parties by implementing the second phase of the joint police and CPS national disclosure improvement plan

• Work in close partnership with the police to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of prosecutions by improving file quality

• Improve the quality of our casework and decision making through a comprehensive training programme for prosecutors

• Work collaboratively with criminal justice system partners to jointly improve case progression.

Measured by:

- Increase compliance with Crown Court directions to more than 93%
- Maintain proportion of recorded sentence uplifts in finalised hate crime convictions above 70%
- Reduce magistrates’ court cases dropped at third or subsequent hearing to less than 20%
- Maintain Crown Court guilty pleas at first hearing above 40%
- Contribute to the recovery of more than £80m proceeds of crime We will continue to digitise and modernise the way we work, supporting a flexible workforce and delivering swifter justice, fewer hearings and more effective trials.

How will we achieve this:

• Ensure digital receipt of files for pre-charge decisions and enhanced efficiency through an improved charging model jointly with the police

• Continue to work closely with other criminal justice system agencies to explore and pilot how technology can improve the way we deliver our disclosure obligations

• Contribute to modernisation of the criminal justice system by collaborating with partners on the design and introduction of reforms to court systems and processes

• Streamline case preparation through the improved sharing of digital case information and by continuing to drive the fast, safe digital transfer of multi-media evidence

• Build on the successful ICT modernisation programme by continuing to improve and future-proof our technology.

Measured by:

- Sustain availability of more than 99.5% of core business IT infrastructure
- Increase percentage of investigative agencies sending multimedia evidence via shared systems to more than 65%
- Improve timeliness of charging decisions to an average of less than 26 days THE PUBLIC HAS CONFIDENCE THAT THE CPS IS FAIR, EFFECTIVE AND INDEPENDENT

Our decisions will be open and transparent, and the public will trust that we are fair and deliver justice.

How will we achieve this:

• Build trust and public understanding of our role across all communities and continue to develop creative ways to explain our work locally and nationally

• Meet the obligations of the Victims’ Code by engaging appropriately with victims and witnesses

• Improve capability through sharing good practice and reacting quickly to disseminate the details of what has been learned

• Contribute to Government priorities such as tackling violent crime, modern slavery and domestic abuse and the EU Exit through effective collaborations with partner agencies

• Build trust and understanding of our work among partners through strategic stakeholder and parliamentary engagement.

2019–20 PLAN

Measured by:

• Improve victims’ letters towards 100% meeting quality standards

• Ensure timeliness of communications with victims towards the Victims’ Code standard of 100%

• Improve public confidence score, measured by independent research, to above 62% Our duty is to prosecute the right people for the right offences. The CPS works with our partners at the heart of the criminal justice system to protect the public and create a safe society.

We will be independent and fair and will deliver justice in every case, acting professionally and striving for excellence. We will treat people with respect and will be honest and open about our work. Our decisions will be open and transparent, and the public will trust that we are fair and deliver justice. We will:

- Positively influence the criminal justice landscape and deliver justice with our partners.

- Provide a professional service to everyone we work with.

- Treat victims and witnesses with respect and care, and respond to their individual needs.

- Be open, listen, explain our decisions and learn from our successes and our mistakes.

- Anticipate and adapt to new and emerging criminal trends.

- Work with and learn from communities to build confidence in the criminal justice system.

- Create engaging campaigns that explain our work.

- Develop effective policies and guidance that reflect changes in society.

- Deal promptly and thoroughly with enquiries and complaints. We will attract the best people and be recognised for our investment in staff, training and skills. We will:

- Behave according to our values, creating a culture of respect where it’s safe to speak up.

- Nurture and grow our talent, offering everyone a clear path for career development.

- Empower leaders to foster a culture of learning where everyone takes responsibility for their own development, and progression is based on merit.

- Broaden our expertise by supporting career moves in and out of the CPS, and between teams.

- Equip our people with the skills to excel in a changing environment.

- Support social mobility, and invest in apprenticeships, scholarships, legal and professional training.

- Set high expectations for individual performance, and be clear how this is managed.

- Develop a diverse workforce that reflects the society we serve. We will deliver justice through excellent, timely legal decision-making, casework preparation and presentation. We will:

- Give early advice to investigators so that the right cases progress, or are quickly stopped.

- Take the right decisions, treating every case fairly and equally, and bringing the correct charges according to the evidence and the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

- Deliver swifter justice through timely case preparation, encouraging appropriate early guilty pleas.

- Build and progress strong cases.

- Provide first class advocacy in every case.

- Build effective partnerships, nationally and internationally, to ensure excellence across the criminal justice system and to prevent harm to the UK. We will continue to digitise and modernise the way we work, supporting a flexible workforce and delivering swifter justice, fewer hearings and more effective trials. We will:

- Look forward, identifying opportunities to reform and improve.

- Work flexibly across geographic boundaries to drive up quality across the CPS.

- Rapidly redeploy resources to respond to changing crime patterns.

- Co-create a shared, digital system that works for all partners in the criminal justice system.

- Design new ways of working informed by the expertise of our frontline staff.

- Invest in our IT, giving people the tools they need to do their best, wherever they work.

- Adapt business processes that support efficiency and cut bureaucracy. About the Crown Prosecution Service

The CPS is responsible for prosecuting most cases heard in the criminal courts in England and Wales. It is led by the Director of Public Prosecutions and acts independently on criminal cases investigated by the police and other agencies. The CPS is responsible for deciding the appropriate charge in more serious or complex cases and provides information, assistance and support to victims and witnesses.

cps.gov.uk @cpsuk